Car-frame construction.



0. T. GREGG.

CAR FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION man JULY 8,1913- Patented June 5, 1917.

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O. T. GREGG.

CAR FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION man JULY 8. 191a.

Patented June 5, 1917.

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0. T. GREGG.

CAR FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8. 1913.

Patented June 5, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- mwwtoa;

TINTTED STATES PATENT QFFTGE.

OTIS TIFFANY GREGG, OF HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE GREGG COM- PANY, LIMITED, OF HACKENSACK, JERSEY, CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CAR-FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTIs TIFFANY GREGG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hackensack, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Frame Construction; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains, to make and use the same, reference being had to the acompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to car frame construction, and has particular reference to the cross-bearers and bolster construction which connect the side sills to the center sills. It has for its object to provide an improved construction of the cross-bearer feature of a car whereby the load is carried from the side sills to the stronger center sills by tension and compression members, as herein after more particularly set forth, in a manner so that said members perform their Work with the maximum efiiciency (that is, maximum strength for weight) as far as possible and in which also the upper'flanges of the center and side sills willbe rigidly spaced by a member which shall also carry'the tension between the upper ends of the tension members.

A further object of the invention is to improve the bolster portion of the car frame whereby the bolster construction will embody members which will rigidly connect the sills, said members having vertical and horizontal portions or legsto impart strength to the members, and the members extending unbrokenly from one side sill to the other and transversely of the center sills, such part of the bolster construction being as large a per cent. of the weight of the total bolster as possible.

A further object is to provide a construc tion embodying the several features mentioned for both the cross-bearing and bolster elements which contain, as far as possible, the maximum of strength and rigidity with the minimum of metal combined with simplicity and comparative inexpensiveness.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear the invention consists in the features hereinafter particularly described and then sought to he clearly defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a car frame construction (with a portion broken away) embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of such a construction;

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 2 with portions broken away, and showing one of the center sills sectioned through its opening for the lower cross members.

Fig. 4 is a cross section through the car frame, on the line of 4:-4: of Fig. 1, viewing one of the cross-bearers in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the bolster construction of the frame, on the line '55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is across section through one of the cross-bearers on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a perspective of one form of a brace-plate that may be used between the center sills, if additional strength is desired, either at the bolster or the cross-bearer construction;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of a car frame showing one ofthe cross-bearers used with a single center sill, preferably an I beam;

Fig.- 9 is a cross section on the line 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a modificatlon showing a lattice instead of a solid plate spacing the upper and lower members of the bolster constructhe side sills illustrated as formed of channel bars, and 2 designates the center sills which may be made of channel bars, unless made of an I beam as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 where the center sill is designated by the numeral 3.

In the cross-bearing feature of the invention one side sill is connected to the other by a compression member 4: which as illustrated is formed with a horizontal leg 5 and vertical leg 6, and for; that purpose may be an L shaped bar. This compression member extends beneath the center sill or sills with its horizontal legs riveted to the lower flanges of the side and center sills, and as will be observed from Figs. & and 9 it extends upwardly or downwardly between the center and side sills in case the center sill isdeeper than the side sills but if the center sill is the same depth as the side sills this compression member may be straight instead of inclined, as is obvious. An upper member 7 having a horizontal leg 8 and .a vertical leg 9, for which purpose it may be an L shaped bar, connects one side sill shape of the sills.

with the other and crosses and bears upon the center sills, and has its horizontal leg riveted to the upper flanges of the side and center'sills, whatever he the cross sectional This upper member serves to connect together and rigidly space apart the side and center sills. It serves further to connect the upper ends of the tension members 10 with the center sills and to carry the tension between the upper ends of the tension members. The tension members are designated by the numeral 10 and consist of bars or plates set obliquely and having their upper ends at or over the center sills and their lower ends toward or near the outer ends of the compression member 41, their upper ends being riveted to the vertical leg of the upper member 7 and their lower ends riveted to the vertical leg of the compression member 4:.

Under the construction illustrated, when the load is applied to the side sills it tends topush down upon the ends of compression member and carry them down and'puts the tension members 10' under tension, the latter swinging about the point of their connection to the upper member 7. The efficiency depends largely upon the perpendicular distance between the upper end of each tension member 10 and the compression member 4, and as the distance between the'tension members and compression memher is the greatest next to the center sills when the compression member is made inclined as shown, the greatest efliciency is obtained by the construction.

The other feature of the invention has reference to the bolster of the car frame construction and is represented mainly in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the drawing. In this construction the side sills 1 and center sills 2 are connected by upper cross members 11, preferably formed of angle-bars, having eachja horizontal leg 12 and a vertical leg 13, said members being parallel with each other and resting upon the top of the side and centersills and having their horizontal legs riveted to the flanges of the side and center sills,'said cross members holding the sills rigidly in their relation to each other. The upper members being formed of amaterial having horizontal and vertical legs as are usually employed to span the center sills. The sills are also spanned by lower cross members 14, preferably formed of angle-bars, and which like the upper mem bers have horizontal legs 15 and vertical legs 16, said members having their horizontal legs riveted to the lower flanges of the side sills and their upper legs cut away or coped at such points of attachment as shown in Fig. 3'. These lower members pass directly through openings formed in the center sills above the lower edges or flanges of the latter so that the ends of the cross members'will join the lower flanges of the side sills without necessitating forging to bend and bring the members in alinement' with the side sills. These lower members accordingly bear on the lower flanges of the side sills and also on the center sills where they pass through the latter. The upper cross members are rigidly spaced from the lower cross members by' spacing memlower cross members and are riveted to the vertical legs of the upper and lower members as illustrated; the ends of the plates, when plates are used, may be appropriately cut or shaped to fit the sills. Corner clips 1%; may be applied at the intersection of the spacing members with the center and side sills and connected by rivets to the spacing members and sills respectively.

Where additional stiffness is desired a member 20 may be inserted between the center sills, said member having a central or web portion 21 the edges of which will lie between the upper and lower cross members, respectively, and be riveted-to their vertical legs, and also having laterally extending lips or flanges 22 which will abut against the sides of the center sill and be secured thereto by rivets passing through them, the center sills and the adjacent corner clips 19. This bracing member may be formed of a piece of I beam having portions of the flanges cut away to form the web with laterally extending flanges, or may be otherwise formed.

The formation of the bolster part of the frame construction as described affords the maximum of strength and'rigidity, as'far as possible, with the minimum of metal and of comparatively simple and inexpensive con- 'struction.

Both features of construction may be used in the same car, although not so of necessity, and by reason of the stiffness and strength of the bolster construction the cross-bearing features employed at other parts of the car, especially so far as concerns the i tension members, may be omitted from the bolster features of construction.

In the cross-bearer construction I lrave illustrated the upper cross-member and the lower compression member composed of single L bars but it is obvious, without illus tration, that these members may be duplicated as in the bolster construction without give increased depth between the top cross member and lower compression member toward or next to the center sills this feature is not absolutely essential so far as concerns the feature of the cross members having vertical and horizontal legs and their use for spacing apart the side and center sills; and the same elements can be used to advantage by omitting the tension members 10 if so desired.

The center sills are illustrated as formed in one instance of I beam type, and in another instance as of a channel bar type. These are given merely as illustrations, and the several sills, either side or center, or both, may be of any well-known type having portions extending laterally from a connecting web or member, and the same will be so understood in interpreting the appended claims.

The diagonal brace members 23 of the frame construction may be such as are ordinarily employed in this type of construction and other features also may be-employed but are not illustrated as they are not necessary to an understanding of my invention.

The terminology center sill as used herein is to include the center sill consisting of one or more beams either of the channel bar or I beam or other type of cross sectional formation.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. In a car frame having center and side sills, a cross-bearer comprising an upper member extending from one side sill to the other and across the center sill, a lower compression member extending from one side sill to the other and under the center sill, the space between the upper and lower cross members being greater toward the center sill than next to the side sills, and tension members extending downwardly from the upper cross member to the compression member. from the center sill to a point at or near the; side sills.

2. Ina car frame having center and side sills, a cross-bearer comprising an upper member extending from one side sill to the other and across the center sill, said member having a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, a lower compression member extending from one side sill to the other and transversely of the center sill, said member having a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, and tension members connected at one end to the upper cross member adjacent to the center sill and extending downwardly and outwardly toward the side sills and connected at one end to the lower compression member adjacent to the side sills.

3. In a car frame having center and side sills, a cross-bearer comprising an upper member extending from one side sill to the other and across the center sill and resting upon the sills, said member having a hOIT zontal leg attached to the sills and a vertical leg, a lower member extending from one side sill to the other and transversely of the center sill, said member having a horizontalleg attached to the sills and a vertical leg, said upper member and lower member, respectively, lying entirely above and below the side and center sills and cooperating to space apart the center and side sills and increase the depth of the cross-bearer and impart additional strength to the frame.

4. In a car frame having center and side sills, a bolster construction comprising upper cross members arranged parallel with each other and extending from one side sill to the other and across the center sill and resting on top of the sills, each of said members having a horizontal leg and vertical leg. lower cross members arranged parallel with each other and extending from one side sill to the other and through the center sill, each of said members having a horizontal leg and a vertical leg, the horizontal leg being at the bottom of the cross member and a part of the vertical leg removed to receive the side sills, and spacing members connecting the upper and lower cross members and having their upper edges lying between and secured to the vertical legs of the upper cross members and their lower edges lying between and secured to the vertical legs of the lower cross members.

5. In a car frame having center and side sills, a bolster construction comprising an upper cross member extending from one side sill to the other and across the center sill and resting upon the sills, said member having a horizontal leg and vertical leg, a lower cross member extending from one side sill to the other and through the center sill, said member having a horizontal leg at its bottom to receive the side sills and an upwardly extending vertical leg, a portion of which is removed to permit the side sill to rest on the horizontal leg, spacingmembers connecting the upper andlo-wercrossmembers and secured atthetop to the vertical leg of the upper cross member and at the bottom to the with lateral flanges secured, respectively,

to the two members of the center sill.

6. In a car. frame having center and side sills, a cross-bearer comprising an upper member extending from one side 'sill -to the 1 other i and across the center sill, said member having a horizontal leg and a vertical 1 leg, a lower compression member extending from one side sill :to. the other and transversely of the center sill, said member'having ahorizontalleg and a Vertical leg, and tension members connected at one end to the upper cross member adjacent to 'the center sill Sand-extending downwardlyaan'd outwardly toward the side sills and connected at one end'to the lower compression mem- *ber adjacent to'the side sills, tension membegs to beattachedto vertical-legs of upper and lower .members.

7. ln acar frame having center and side sills, a cross-bearer comprising an upper -member extendmg from one side-sill to the other and acrossthercenter sill, said memwardly toward the side sills and connected at one end to the lower compressionmember adjacent to :the side sills, tension members 110 beeattached; to vertical legs of upper and lower members,said upper and lower members lying entirely above and below said side and center sills.

:In testimony whereof I 'aflix signature in presence of .two witnesses.

OTIS TIFFANY GREGG. -Witnesses:

JOHN L. DAHL, :HENRY N. =GREENE.

"Copies of'this patentmay be-obtai ned tori-five cents each by addressing the Commissioner of 1 Patents,

ashington, ,D. C. 

